“To be precise, that was the Medith of before; the Medith now is the one you see, clear as moonlight on water.”

Medith didn’t flinch; her heart felt like a still lake. Sais studied her for a long while. “Then why say it? If you don’t, no one knows. Why bother?”

Medith’s grin opened like a blossom; emerald hair flashed silver under the moon. “Because you’re my family!”

The women went still, statues in the dim room. After a long beat, Sais felt her eyes grow wet; she wiped tears like dew. “You’re right. Medith is Medith. We’re family. No secrets.”

Medith patted Sais’s head, soft as a feather on water. “Sleep. The road’s still long.”

This time, they didn’t hesitate; they dove into bed and cocooned in blankets. “Hey, Commander, what kind of person were you?”

Medith’s gaze grew deep, a well at night. “I’m a coward… a coward who couldn’t protect the one I loved.”

Phiby’s heart clenched; she wrapped Medith tight, feeling guilt in those eyes like heavy iron.

Sais’s face dipped into sorrow, then curiosity pushed in like a lantern. “Why are you here? Why come to our continent?”

Milia, Iling, and Phiby all turned, their eyes bright as stars.

Medith closed her eyes for a breath, then made her choice, like a blade drawn. “I know that matters to you. Even if you trust I won’t harm you, I’m still an outsider, a knot in your hearts.”

“I laid my cards out for myself, really. Because… I never lie to family.”

“No, Commander, we—”

“No need to explain. I know. The word ‘Commander’ is proof enough.” Her face didn’t change, but the women felt the thorn. Deep down, they still pushed her away.

Medith stroked Phiby and Sais’s hair, fingers like a breeze through grass. “I don’t blame you. Time will prove everything. As for my ‘purpose,’ I truly don’t know.”

“A so-called god threw me onto this land like a leaf in a storm. No orders. No goal.”

“That’s my proof of living. I am Medith, Medith Waheit. I am myself, not a toy, not a tool.”

“I’ll gather every Divine Stone on this continent and fuse them into one. After that, I’ll decide what comes next.”

“Medith, you—” Sais heard the ideal and almost choked, breath snagging like a caught bird. “Do you know what that means? The four kingdoms rely on Divine Stones for power. The continent’s bound to them.”

“You’re setting yourself against the world. Do you understand?”

Milia, one of Medith’s most trusted, held her tongue. After hell’s scenes and a continent without end, she felt small, her clan smaller yet.

Not to mention—if Haidra himself drove in that mountain-splitting shot, the Queen’s ward would shatter in a heartbeat.

“I know,” Medith said, voice like cold rain. “Even if I don’t do it, this land will fall into despair sooner or later. Haven’t you felt it?”

She sat up; twin emerald eyes flashed like blades, terrifying in the gloom.

“What… what do you mean?” It was the first time Sais found Medith so strange. Medith turned her head slowly; their gaze met like lightning, and Sais almost jolted.

Medith faced Sais, her tone sharp as frost. “With the little I know, I can still read the future. The Southern Kingdom moves everywhere.”

“With its armies and Divine Stones, it’s restless, like a tide before a storm.”

“The Eastern Nation—its Divine Stone waned forty years ago. Overall strength fell by more than half.”

“Ask yourself—can such a kingdom stay steady? A swarm can fell a giant; a pack brings down the tiger.”

“Add today’s rebel attack, and the country looks like twilight, fading into night.”

“Mountain Bandits spread across the land, cunning as foxes. Not strong, but masters at looting when fires burn, easy to rouse.”

“And the powers we don’t know yet? Are they good or ill, right or wrong?”

“But if that’s true, why hasn’t the Southern Kingdom acted?” Milia caught the heart of it, bright as a knife-edge.

“Remember our tie to the Eastern Nation?” Medith’s thoughts ran like wind. “The East is huge, full of factions. The Northern Kingdom may be its ally.”

“That’s the continent’s eerie balance: the Southern Kingdom’s ambition surges, eager to move.”

“The Western Kingdom shuts its windows to the world, minding its own house.”

“The Eastern Nation is in its autumn years, strength sliding, yet it holds a delicate balance through its bond with the Northern Kingdom.”

“Plus the leash of bandits and unknown forces, holding the board in check.”

“Now, just a single fuse could blow the continent’s oil barrel, and fire would run.”

Wooo— The wind moaned outside, a low horn in the dark. Shasha— Soon, rain began to drum the earth.

“What’s happening? Why the sudden rain?” Phiby looked out into the night. The moonlit sky was draped in thick black cloud, and the darkness deepened.

Crack—!

“Ah—!” Thunder snapped her nerves; she clung to Medith and shook like a leaf.

The women were shaken, hearts fluttering like sparrows. Before nature’s absolute force, everyone feels fear—especially the Elf Clan, bound to nature’s whispers.

Woooo— The Cyclone roared, like a demon murmuring.

Shasha… Raindrops fell, plucking a strange, cold music.

Bang, bang, bang— The window rattled under the Cyclone, like glass about to shatter.

Rumble— Crack— Lightning snaked across the sky, flaring the heavens bright, then thunder boomed like a god’s rage, warning mortals to stay out.

Medith’s eyes were pulled to the lightning, emeralds catching fire. She felt the storm trying to speak, a message in the chaos:

“So what if you know? Try and stop it. You, a woman, a mortal, dreaming to shake a god’s will—childish.”